tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post4409281821834765152..comments2024-03-28T17:13:01.117+10:00Comments on Condensed concepts: Want to improve student learning? Then fail more!Ross H. McKenziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950455939572097456noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-89766959846069116562010-06-08T10:21:21.687+10:002010-06-08T10:21:21.687+10:00I agree that the students are struggling with simp...I agree that the students are struggling with simple things because they don't have to do them. However I don't think that failing more students is how to get them to learn these simple things. If they don't have to do these things to do the material of the course it would be unfair to fail them on it. "I'm going to fail you on this question because even though you got it completely right your grammar is atrocious" would not go down well to any student and I believe that all it would accomplish would be to lose you respect. Especially if you aren't going to teach the student how to do it right. <br /><br />Instead, make it an additional criteria and go through it in every example. Want students to learn to carry through units? then do examples every lecture where you carry the units through. Set out your problems like how you want them to answer. I gurantee that will produce better results than just failing more students.<br /><br />Students wouldn't have to undertake an additional writing course if this was done in all physics courses. I know that in all my education courses grammar, spelling and general structure is a criteria and FEEDBACK is given on these things. feedback is the most important thing here. The student won't get better if you fail them and they don't know what to improve. <br /><br />We're probably saying the same thing in different words. it's not really the student's fault if they never HAD to learn something but more a fault of the course. Also I want to emphasise how the solution isn't to fail more people but to make it a part of the course, a criteria. It looks like the same thing, but there's a fine line seperating the two.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11019752878032254758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-8596371545354516272010-06-02T07:19:53.139+10:002010-06-02T07:19:53.139+10:00I didnt learn anything about units until graduate ...I didnt learn anything about units until graduate quantum mechanics. I also take no personal responsability for that one. To his great credit Brad Marston made me learn units, and later my thesis advisor reinforced it. <br /><br />The reason was simple: it was never required previously. My electricity and magnetism courses used different units each term --to this day i loathe cgs and prefer SI even with mu's running around. <br /><br />as for the writing, it was not required of me either. <br />I really like ideas like this:<br />http://web.mit.edu/8.06/www/termpaper.html<br /><br />and maybe, just maybe, we should require physics majors to take a writing class --something i never did either!<br /><br />now the math bit you speak of is new to me, although i have this issue with my own student: im teaching introductory classes and sometimes even basic algebra or trigonometry is a problem, so i cover it and tell them they need it. most students can learn and are willing to work, i just wonder how i got them without the other parts in the machine of education doing their job. one thing i did learn in physics was plenty of math.anonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18356228211708177340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-5115095001295282672010-06-02T06:12:11.989+10:002010-06-02T06:12:11.989+10:00Oh Ross, I think this is the biggest problem in Au...Oh Ross, I think this is the biggest problem in Australian Universities today. I was talking to a guy in Leipzig on Sunday night who was thinking of dropping out of 3rd year undergrad physics because he didn't realise it would be so difficult. I guarantee you he'd pass quite happily in the university I went to. My current boss is running a grad course on QFT in condensed matter which would have made my head explode after undergrad.<br /><br />Soft marking is rife, it's no secret. But I feel like it's doing the universities no favours at all. It infuriates me when I hear that 70% failed statistical mechanics which the university feels is unacceptable, so half of them are bumped up to a pass. Sure there may be circumstances when that's ok - fine.<br /><br />Incidentally on the grammar side of things, I was the only person in undergraduate labs who (right or wrong) actually marked students down for poor grammar. <br /><br />Your link to the Female Science Professor was very interesting. It had never occurred to me that perhaps people are trying, but still can't string a cogent argument together. I'm not sure I believe it actually.<br /><br />Phd Comics had a nice grammar and marking reference a week or two back:<br />http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1319<br /><br />Sorry if this was a little rant-y. Enjoying the blog immensely as always.Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08582644751812812675noreply@blogger.com